Learn what Ecommerce Ads are, discover the main channels for advertising, and see tips for achieving success with your campaigns
If your goal is to accelerate sales in your online store, then Ecommerce Ads is the most efficient shortcut to attract qualified traffic, quickly test offers, and scale results with predictability.
In practice, it involves investing in paid media, whether on Google Ads, Meta Ads, or other channels to position your products in front of the right people at the right time with the most persuasive message for each stage of the buying journey.
Next learn all about this strategy, its benefits, and where to start advertising!
What are Ecommerce Ads
As mentioned above, Ecommerce Ads are a set of paid media strategies designed for online stores.
In other words, it’s about using ads to connect your catalog to the right people from the first contact to the decision, with messages adjusted for each stage of the funnel.
That is, you invest to appear exactly when the client is searching, discovering, or comparing products.
This can happen on search engines when someone types buy running shoes, on social media being impacted by a video review, or at other digital touchpoints like Pinterest and marketplaces.
In this way, we can see that the benefits appear on four fronts:
- Speed when campaigns are activated, traffic arrives the same day and sales can happen without relying solely on SEO or organic reach.
- Intention and reach by being present where people search and get inspired, you engage with audiences at different stages of the funnel, from those beginning to consider a solution to those ready to buy.
- Measurement and control with tracking configured, you monitor metrics such as CPA and ROAS test creatives and bid variations, pause non-performing elements, and allocate budget to what works.
- Predictability finally, as campaign history grows, it becomes easier to understand patterns, set goals, and adjust plans, whether to exploit seasonality, launch a new collection, or boost a top product.
Ecommerce Ads where to advertise
Below we have selected the main channels you can use to start running ads for ecommerce and achieve the best results at all stages of the funnel. Follow along
1. Google Ads
Without a doubt, Google Ads is one of the most relevant channels for ecommerce as it captures purchase intent more directly and delivers solutions according to user needs.
To this end, the platform offers different ad formats, the main ones you can use are:
- Search Network displays ads when someone searches for terms like buy sports shoes. Thus, it is suitable for those who already have demand and want to capture users ready to decide
- Display Network are banners displayed on partner sites and apps. Therefore, they are great for remarketing strategies with audiences who visited products or abandoned carts to present collections and warm up audiences
- Shopping these are ads that show image, price, store name, and reviews directly in the results, as the example below demonstrates. That is, they are more attractive to those who know exactly what they want to buy
2. Facebook/Instagram Ads
Also known as Meta Ads, ads for Instagram and Facebook work very well for discovery and social proof especially if they use strong and memorable creatives
As with Google, you can work with different formats to achieve these objectives, such as
- Catalog Campaigns with ads that automatically display viewed/recommended products. This makes them ideal for remarketing and upselling
- ConversionsAdvantage Shopping use automation and artificial intelligence to optimize ads and direct more buyers to your online store
- ReelsStoriesFeed are perfect formats for quick creatives to conduct demonstrations, share social proofs, and UGC user-generated content.
From all of this, we can see that Meta Ads are the ideal channel for those looking to expand reach, test offers, tell product stories, or nurture cold and warm audiences.
3. TikTok
Another interesting channel for discovery is TikTok Ads. After all, its dynamic and trend-based language can be a differentiator for reaching audiences.
Whether to boost organic content or run native ads with strong viral potential, the important thing is to work with products with visual appeal, competitive pricing, and authentic narratives such as reviews, unboxing, or how-to tutorials.
4. Pinterest
Meanwhile, Pinterest functions as a source of inspiration for users Thus, it is great for categories like decoration, fashion, beauty, and DIY.
Among its formats, it is worth highlighting:
- Shopping Ads and catalog to run shoppable pins that shorten the journey
- Considerationtraffic to generate qualified visits with high purchase intent
That is, it’s an excellent channel option to boost seasonal collections and products with strong visual/aesthetic appeal
5. Marketplaces
Finally, platforms like Amazon Ads, Mercado Livre Ads, Magalu Ads, Shopee Ads and similar ones operate within the search ecosystem of the marketplace itself.
With this, you gain prominence on the results pages, which increases the chances of sales for your store with Ecommerce Ads.
Thus, it is ideal for those who want to gain quick traction, move stock, and test demand.
What is the best channel for advertising
The answer to this question will depend on your goals, average ticket, margin, and stage of your business.
But to help with your assessment, we have prepared the following comparative table:
| Channel | Main objective | When to use | Strengths | Relative cost |
| Google Search | Capture demand | Products with searches and intent | High predictable intent | Medium to high |
| Google ShoppingPMAX | Scale catalog | Stores with optimized feed | Visual, price up front | Medium |
| DisplayRemarketing | Reheat and remind | Cart abandonment visit | Inexpensive reach frequency | Low to medium |
| Meta FBIG | Discovery and conversion | Strong creatives social proof | Broad targeting and catalog | Low to medium |
| TikTok | Top and middle of the funnel | Visual and young product | Reach and viralization | Low to medium |
| Inspiration and research | Fashion, decoration, and beauty | Inspirational intent | Low to medium | |
| Marketplaces | Immediate sale | Turnover | Trust and volume | Variable |
Thus, it’s important to note that while Google captures the active intent of those who already know what they want, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok expand reach and consideration, sparking desire and reinforcing social proof.
Meanwhile, ads on marketplaces can be very useful for those looking to boost stores on these platforms and sell in a more direct way.
Tips for creating your first Ecommerce Ads campaign
Now that you know the main channels, check out a step-by-step guide to launch your first campaign safely and with a focus on results, accelerating platform learning
1. Define the destination and success metric
Before hitting publish, choose where to direct the user—product page, category, or collection—and how you will measure what is good
That is, translate business goals into KPIs to know what to optimize, when to pause, and where to increase the budget
2. Start lean
Instead of dozens of variations, prioritize a simple structure to facilitate diagnosis.
That is use few ad groups clear matches on the search network and three to five creatives per set in Meta/TikTok.
With less noise, it’s easier to identify what truly moves the needle.
3. Feed the algorithms
Next, ensure you have reliable conversion signals. To do this, install pixelSDK, configure events, and import conversions from GA4 when it makes sense.
Without this foundation, platforms optimize for clicks, not sales, which usually raises the CPA and reduces the ROAS.
4. Perfect the feed
For ShoppingPerformance Max, the feed is your shelf. Therefore, invest in titles with keywords and brand, quality images, competitive pricing and updated stock.
After all, a well-maintained feed improves platform approval, increases CTR, and qualifies the traffic reaching the site.
5. Create testable offers
To accelerate learning and help increase conversions, work with clear benefits such as free shipping, kits, progressive discounts, or cross-sell.
But remember to test one incentive at a time and observe the impact on CTR, conversion rate, and margin so you discover what sustains a healthy ROAS.
6. Use smart remarketing
To do this, structure by depth and interaction time:
- 1 to 3 days hot for cart/checkout abandonment
- 7 to 14 days warm for those who visited products
- more than 30 days cold generate lighter incentives for reactivation
Also adjust the frequency to avoid saturation and exclude recent buyers to avoid wasting budget
7. Structure AB tests
With this practice, you can analyze what works and what needs improvement in your Ecommerce Ads strategy.
However, remember to validate hypotheses by changing one element at a time creative, audience, placement, or bid and set a minimum airing time and a winning criterion.
This way, you build learning more effectively and make safer decisions.
8. Think about post-click
No matter how strong your ads are, directing to a slow or inefficient page does not help convert.
Therefore, always focus on speed, clear photos, social proof ratings/seals clear shipping and timing and obstacle-free checkout.
After all, the simpler the process to complete the purchase, the lower the CPA tends to be and the greater the potential for ROAS.
Analyze the results of Ecommerce Ads with Reportei
As we’ve emphasized throughout this article, result analysis is essential for optimizing ecommerce ads.
And to do this more efficiently, you can rely on Reportei a complete solution that facilitates the collection, analysis, and interpretation of your online store’s report data.
Including from our tool, you integrate with the main ecommerce platforms in the market like WooCommerce, Shopify, and Nuvemshop to consolidate sales metrics.
At the same time connects with Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, Pinterest Ads, and other channels to view campaign performance alongside the real results of the store all in one place.
Additionally, Reportei offers:
- Pre-configured templates for ecommerce with total layout customization
- Reportei AI with AI-driven instant insights to highlight what matters most: peaks, bottlenecks, opportunities, and anomalies
- Real-time dashboards to track paid traffic, SEO, social media, and sales channels on an intuitive dashboard
- Monitoring of indicators and goals helping you measure the progress of CPA, ROAS, average ticket, and conversion rate
That is, by centralizing and simplifying analysis, Reportei frees your time for the essentials to plan better campaigns, correct courses quickly, and sell more.
Try it for free and see how it can revolutionize the management and growth of your ecommerce.
FAQ frequently asked questions about Ecommerce Ads
Next, check out also an additional section with Q&A to clear up common questions
Ideally, start with an amount that generates data, e.g., 20 to 50 conversions/month per channel. From there, you can adjust by CPA, ROAS, and margin.
While Search captures existing intent, Social creates demand and works on social proof. That said, combining the two strategies usually delivers the best ROI for online stores.
It works better for stores that have an optimized feed, competitive prices, and stable stock. Without these, the algorithm has little traction to work with and provide better results.
First, consider the learning phase, which is generally 7 to 14 days. Additionally, optimize after accumulating enough conversions per set.
Get inspired but adapt your creatives to your value proposition. Additionally, remember that UGC, social proof, and real demonstrations usually perform better.
Structure campaigns by intent, monitor audience overlap, and centralize data reading. For example, you can use Reportei to get a more complete view of the strategy and understand if one channel is harming the results of the other.
In general, use for quick traction, stock turnover, and demand testing. In parallel, build your brand on your own site to avoid being subject to fees.
Among the main ones are CPA (cost per acquisition), ROAS (return on ad spend), conversion rate, CTR (click-through rate), CPC (cost per click), average ticket, and LTV (lifetime value). Alongside these, also track feed approval and site speed.
